Book DescriptionThe Stunning Hidden Interconnections Between Microbes and Humanity

AD 452: Attila the Hun stands ready to sack Rome. No one can stop him--but he walks away. A miracle? No...dysentery. Microbes saved the Roman Empire. Nearly a millennium later, the microbes of the Black Death ended the Middle Ages, making possible the Renaissance, western democracy, and the scientific revolution. Soon after, microbes ravaged the Americas, paving the way for their European conquest.

Again and again, microbes have shaped our health, our genetics, our history, our culture, our politics, even our religion and ethics. This book reveals much that scientists and cultural historians have learned about the pervasive interconnections between infectious microbes and humans. It also considers what our ongoing fundamental relationship with infectious microbes might mean for the future of the human species.

I believe an epidemic also helped to end WWI as well. The flu was a serious and sometimes deadly thing when it first appeared. Hence the fine for spitting on the sidewalk. The book does look interesting.

This is basically "Guns, Germs, and Steel"-lite. A nice Cliff Notes-like version which is good for getting the gist of the connections without going into what may be too much depth or detail for the casual reader.

It's a nice freebie. But if you got this or this week's other FT Press offerings from B&N early in the morning, you might want to check your receipts, as they had the website glitch where it showed a free price and then charged the full for some of their $0.00 titles.